Dieppe, N.B. residents witness dramatic police takedown

Some Greater Moncton residents watched a dramatic police takedown last night as police dogs and undercover officers carrying guns flocked to a residence in Dieppe, N.B.

Nadine Cormier says the commotion gave her the scare of her life, as she ate dinner Thursday evening.

“There was about five or six undercover police cars here,” says Cormier. “So they had the canines looking for him and all that time he was hiding in that tent.”

She then grabbed her phone and began snapping pictures and uploading them to Facebook.

Codiac RCMP arrested two men in the scuffle, following a chase with a police dog.

A second resident on the street saw the end of the arrest, which took place just a few feet from her home.

“I had just finished getting him to bed and I was in my bedroom and I heard yelling,” says Dieppe resident Amie LeBlanc. “We thought it was a fight so I was calling my husband and said ‘come here, come here.’”

The RCMP say the takedown followed a series of alleged crimes in the area last week.

“That was in connection with two recent robberies at Moncton financial institutions, one on Mountain Road on the 18th of June and the other one of the 22nd of June on Cornhill Street in Moncton,” says Codiac RCMP Const. Pierre Parenteau. “The two individuals are facing several charges in connection with these robberies.”

One of the two men who was arrested Thursday was also involved in an alleged hit-and-run on Wednesday.

Police say they were attempting to arrest the man when he fled in his car and dragged a police officer for a short distance. The officer was not injured.

“We got a call at five o’clock because we are on police rotation. It was to pick up a car off a side street on St. George, which was earlier involved in a hit-and-run, and it was connected to the bank robberies,” says tow truck driver Lee Gallant.

Cormier admits the ordeal was scary, but she is glad it was resolved without any of her neighbours getting hurt.

“I am just thankful that they finally got him,” she says. “They had the handcuffs on him and everything. I am just really thankful that they got him off the streets.”

A 33-year-old man and a 48-year-old man, both from the Moncton area, are facing charges in connection with the robberies.

The 33-year-old is also facing charges in connection with the hit-and-run.

With files from CTV Atlantic's David Bell

Photos

Police say this man is facing charges in connection with a bank robbery, as well as a hit-and-run involving a police officer. (Photo courtesy of Nadine Cormier)